Tips On Thorn Spinless Combat Throwing?

T

Tonie Nichols

Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
277
We have a small group of guys that train stick, knife and hands privately and both the Teacher and I have a minor interest in tactical throwing. This last summer we started the whole group into throwing tomahawks, axes, knives, screwdrivers and wrenches and had quite a blast with it.

I acheived a small measure of success with a no spin technique that could be used within knife fighting range and could be stretched out to about ten feet. We did a little bit of research on the internet and found some information on spinless throwing, but with the advent of winter I'd rather forgotten about it.

Last night at class the Teacher handed me Ralph Thorn's video and asked me if I would like to watch it; which I did after I got home. Wow, I guess you could call Ralph the Hip-Hop master of knife (scissor, spike, shears, etc) throwing.

I don't have any interior walls to sacrifice but I do have some Cold Steel rubber training knives and balanced them up according to Ralph's formula. In my twenty minutes of practice at a distance of about 10 feet I have not quite mastered the technique and have yet to hit anything point first, even by accident. However I have beat the dickens out the targets with the butts of the knives. I have even achieved a couple of butt strikes with a reverse spin.

I think I have a lot of unlearning to do of my old techniques.

I am especially mystified by the wrist snap part of the technique as I have always used it to impart spin. How do you use it to impart spinlessness?
 
I started trying a no spin throw when I went for a visit to my dads house a while back. I was using a GI Tanto, which works ok for this. Since it has finger guards on both top and bottom of blade, I had to hold the blade kinda flat in my hand (sort of like I think you would use a dart). By the end of the first few hours I was getting no spin sticks out to about 10+ feet or so. But with that specific knife and how I had to hold it, I was not using a wrist snap at all.

I have found that any distance from right up close till out to the 10 foot range I am getting consistent sticks. It was neat for me, because I have only ever done spin throwing my whole life (threw lots more as a kid).
 
Tonie,

You may or may not know, but Ralph Thorn himself reads and posts here often.

I recommend you also read his companion book, which discusses how some blades need a little modification to work well. He goes into substantial detail in the book.
 
Bigfattyt and Watchful

Thanx for the replies.

Yeah I did see his postings here. I've always thought that it was really great that folks like Ralph or Bobby or Sal Glesser took the time to communicate and share with others.

I have class tonight and I'll be taking the dvd back to my teacher who has the book and then I'll read it.

Just like you I found that within ten feet I could acheive a spinless throw without a wrist snap and I got pretty good at it. But I really don't think that mine compares to Ralph's for power or versatility.

As I was looking through the testimonials on Ralph's web site I saw that one of them said that the snap "slapped" the end of the knife to dampen the spin that would otherwise naturally occur. That's an interesting clue.

Back to the basement for me.
 
Hi,

When you were reverse-spinning you were coming closest to doing my no-spin throw. Remember that I discussed timing the release, and that beginners tend to release too late, as I showed a reverse spin throw in the dvd. That is what is likely holding you back, mistiming the release and/or not having the correct hand action.

The release mechanics are something that come up often with people used to using other techniques. I am hoping to get some more information about this subject into my materials in the future. My no-spin release is more of a gradual, sliding release, as opposed to a sudden release that most other styles seem to use (including my spinless underhand). The wrist is the propulsion mechanism, a "scooping" action with the hand is the hand movement. It is true that the fingertip or fingertips brush the handle of the weapon as it is released, and that this helps straighten out the flight pattern; however, sometimes it does more harm than good to talk about this because arm, wrist and hand are one integreted motion and if someone starts thinking about what this or that part of the body is doing, it only tends to screw them up even more. Just keep getting repetitions, remember that timing is everything with the release and to watch why you are missing and to change the timing of the release accordingly.

Hope this helps.

Ralph Thorn
 
eralphthorn said:
Hi,

When you were reverse-spinning you were coming closest to doing my no-spin throw. Remember that I discussed timing the release, and that beginners tend to release too late, as I showed a reverse spin throw in the dvd. That is what is likely holding you back, mistiming the release and/or not having the correct hand action.

The release mechanics are something that come up often with people used to using other techniques. I am hoping to get some more information about this subject into my materials in the future. My no-spin release is more of a gradual, sliding release, as opposed to a sudden release that most other styles seem to use (including my spinless underhand). The wrist is the propulsion mechanism, a "scooping" action with the hand is the hand movement. It is true that the fingertip or fingertips brush the handle of the weapon as it is released, and that this helps straighten out the flight pattern; however, sometimes it does more harm than good to talk about this because arm, wrist and hand are one integreted motion and if someone starts thinking about what this or that part of the body is doing, it only tends to screw them up even more. Just keep getting repetitions, remember that timing is everything with the release and to watch why you are missing and to change the timing of the release accordingly.

Hope this helps.

Ralph Thorn[/QUOTE

Thank you so much for the information Ralph. Yeah, sometimes you can really overanalyze when instead you need to be feeling.

I was down in the basement this morning and I think that a couple of times I felt what you just said.

It's especially true that I have a lot to unlearn as I've been throwing and breaking knives ever since I could bounce one off a tree in the back yard, but it was all half rotation holding the blade style. It really wasn't up until this summer that I started experimenting with a spinless style.

Thanx again for the response, I'll take it out to class with me tonight.

Oh by the way, that's one brave camera person you had there!

Be Safe, Watch for the Bounce Back:D
Tonie
Click to expand...
 
Hi Watchful,

This is a very good forum and a long-running one. I think that's because it is open to a lot of different topics. Most of the throwing forums are too focused on one thing to the exclusion of all else.

RT
 
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